Supporters of expansion at Coventry Airport have rubbished claims made by protesters about the environ-mental impact of extra flights.

On Monday, members of the Campaign Against The Expansion of Coventry Airport (CAECA) staged a peaceful protest outside the airport which was attended by nearly 250 people and was on the theme of pollution.

The CAECA claimed a Boeing 737 plane uses about 437 gallons of fuel to take off and achieve 3,000 feet and that the area would suffer an additional 14,000 gallons a day just from Thomsonfly flights.

A spokesman for the Coventry Airport Supporters group said: "We have identified a number of key errors with this statement.

"Firstly, this seems to imply that the fuel is somehow spread over the areas around the airport, this is simply not true, fuel is not 'dumped' during take-off and landing. The idea that it would be dumped is ludicrous (and inefficient), imagine the effect at larger airports if this was the case.

"It is true that there are engine emissions but these are subject to strict international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation."

Supporters were also keen to point out that since the 1960s, aircraft emissions affecting local air quality have been dramatically reduced.